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College Football Recruiting: 3 biggest winners from 2021 Early Signing Period

By Dante Pryor

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 19: Head coach Clay Helton of the USC Trojans leads his team on to the field before the game against the Arizona Wildcats at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 19: Head coach Clay Helton of the USC Trojans leads his team on to the field before the game against the Arizona Wildcats at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Offensive coordinator for Jackson State University’s football team Michael Pollock, from left, head coach Deion Sanders and defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman take questions from media during a press conference at JSU’s Walter Payton Recreation and Wellness Center in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.Deion Sanders
Offensive coordinator for Jackson State University’s football team Michael Pollock, from left, head coach Deion Sanders and defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman take questions from media during a press conference at JSU’s Walter Payton Recreation and Wellness Center in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.Deion Sanders /

1. Deion Sanders and Jackson State

For anyone who thought Deion Sanders was not serious about coaching, the NFL Hall of Famer is proving many people wrong on the recruiting trail. When he was hired as the head coach of the Jackson State Tigers, most people wanted to know about the failed Prime Prep Academy instead of how a former defensive back became one of the better offensive coordinators in Texas.

Now at JSU and on the recruiting trail, Sanders has brought in one of the best classes for an HBCU in the last five years. Sanders and the Tigers’ staff beat out NC State for Trinity Valley CC defensive tackle Rasheed Lyles. Sanders and the recruiting staff in Jackson, Mississippi, also flipped linebacker Jeremiah Brown from Willie Taggart and Florida Atlantic. Their 127th ranking might seem low, but it sits ahead of Tulsa and Western Kentucky.

Sanders could head a trend with HBCUs competing for recruits on the radar for both Power Five and Group of Five programs.

The cycle has the potential to get even better for Sanders and the Tigers as well. “Coach Prime” is in the hunt for Jimmy Horn Jr. from Sanford, Fla. Horn is also on the radar of the Georgia Bulldogs.

These signees are in addition to four-star quarterback Sheduer Sanders — Deion’s youngest son. Sanders and the Tigers’ staff have been busy in the transfer portal. Jackson State has snagged former Florida State defensive back Isaiah Bolden, former USC linebacker Abdul-Malik McClain, and former South Carolina defensive back Shilo Sanders, Sanders’ other son.

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